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Part Three of a Survivor’s Guide to your own Personal Black Swan Moment

It will happen. You will find yourself interviewing for a job that you want, and even need. As a thoughtful investor, how would you evaluate YOU as an asset? To help to turn an interview into an offer, here are 9 things to do right now to make you the candidate they want to hire:

Check your credit rating. This may be painful but your new employer will be doing it and you may as well know what it is in advance. If you have been out of work and missed any payments, your credit rating may have slipped. When this potential employer tells you they will run a routine credit check on you and check your references, be up front about this. Get ahead of this as soon as possible. Put your tax dollars to work and check the FTC site where you can get a credit check for free. This is the only site where they will not force you into buying their service.

Reality check on your activity. Just what have you been doing? Have you been volunteering, or spending the day checking job web sites? It is not too late to change this. Pick up a hammer or a computer mouse and volunteer to help others less fortunate. You never know who you might be standing next to when you volunteer….it just may be your next boss. Your resume is essential to providing your employment history. Fill in your gaps with true life stories about what you have been doing while making your self the employee this boss needs to hire.

Social Networking sites. Explode your LinkedIn connections. Start here because there may be more of a business orientation. Focus your Face Book page on business, and remove personal references if you think they may jeopardize the likelihood of being hired.

Unlink your self for a few hours every day. If you find your day flying by while you text, twitter or e-mail, unplug and walk away. In your new job, you will need to unlink for hours at a time, so you may as well start right now.

Health insurance check up. This is critical. If you have COBRA, check out the cost of individual insurance. If you are healthy it may be less. If it has run out, you may be able to get health insurance for less cost than you may think. If you have no health insurance, and your employer offers you health insurance, any pre-existing conditions may not be covered for 12 months. And that’s for you and your family. Temporary insurance may cost slightly less but often does not count as credible coverage so the pre-existing clause may still apply. Your financial planner or insurance agent may be able to guide you through the maze of options.

Investing 101. This may not come up in your initial interviews, but at some point the new employer may talk about their retirement plan. You want the job, and you will also want to evaluate the financial impact of this benefit. If they don’t talk about this, ask them, and then review with your financial planner. For example do they have a 401K? Is there a match? Familiarize your self with these terms so you can make an educated decision.

Write at least one thank you note each day. Gratitude is uplifting, and saying thank you is free. Continue this after you are hired.

Visit webs sites: Walk into the interview knowing something about the company that interests you or be prepared to make an observation that shows your analytical skills. Research not only the Company web site, but also look at competitor’s web sites. Pair this with LinkedIn to get the inside story from anyone you know that works at this company.

Be your best: If you have any negativity about anything: former jobs, employers, “the stock market”, the job market, etc. leave them at the door. Perform an internal system dump and get rid of all of that. Be honest with yourself, and know if you would hire you. Your genuine confidence will be an incentive for them to hire you. I see how hard this is every time I meet with people working through a job loss. Hard, but you must do it.

Share your story about the hiring process, especially if you were not hired. What did you learn? Help others learn from your experience. If you prefer, you can contact me at edorle@ellendorle.com